I'd Come For You
by ScruffyLovin
Summary: Sam gets a scare when a retired Jack lands in the infirmary while she's off commanding The Hammond.


**Summary: **Sam gets a scare when a retired Jack lands in the infirmary while she's off commanding The Hammond.

**Timeframe: **Post-series

**Characters/Pairing: **Established Sam/Jack, Daniel, Dr. Lam

**Genre: **Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Fluff

**Rating:**M (brief nudity and mild adult conversation; rating just to be safe)

**I'd Come For You**

The ship was orbiting _Earth_, for crying out loud; Sam couldn't understand why the radio transmission had been so bad. One of _The Hammond's _technicians was working on it when she got the request for a private call in her quarters. She'd assumed it would be Jack. He got bored and wanted to talk to her whenever he could.

Since his retirement and subsequent return to Colorado, they'd both moved back into his old house. He'd been renting the place out while he was in DC, even though he told everyone he sold it. Jack could be sentimental that way. He didn't want to give up his closest ties to his friends—his _family_—in Colorado.

Sitting down on her bed and flipping open her laptop to receive the call, Sam was surprised to see Daniel's face staring back at her through a bad video reception. Her brows furrowed slightly. "Daniel?"

"_Hey S…am…" _the video skipped, but she still caught the note of incertitude in her close friend's voice.

"Daniel, what's going on?" Sam sucked her lower lip between her teeth and shifted on the bed, her full attention on the jumpy screen, straining to hear over the beats of static.

"_J..….didn't…me…upset you…but…Jack…infir…ary…stroke…"_

Sam's heart lurched into her throat and the transmission cut off. She slammed her laptop closed and darted from the room, racing toward the bridge. Right now she didn't care about protocol or keeping her emotions in check, keeping her personal life out of her work. All she cared about was Jack. Any repercussions she might face for her next actions wouldn't matter. Someone was beaming her out whether she had to make it an order or do it herself. Sam was going home.

.

Sam had to shake off the momentary disorientation after beaming into the hall just outside the SGC infirmary. A startled Daniel rounded the corner and spotted her, his eyes wide with shock.

"Sam! What are you—"

She felt tears burning at her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. "Where is he, Daniel?" Her voice felt clogged in her throat. "How bad—" Sam's heart was racing, her hands and knees trembling.

Daniel rushed toward, pulling her into a hug with a calming smile. "Whoa, whoa, calm down. It's not that bad. We started treating him for the heat stroke in time; Jack's gonna be alright."

Sam abruptly jerked back. "What?" She blubbered breathlessly. _"Heat stroke?"_

"Yeah," Daniel said slowly with confusion. "He came to the Alpha Site to help us clean up after a bad storm. It was like a hundred and five degrees in the shade. A bunch of us suffered dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke."

"_Oh God." _Sam dropped to her knees and let the tears fall. She felt Daniel kneel beside her, rubbing at her back. "The transmission on the ship was bad. I thought… Oh God, I thought you said he'd had a stroke."

"No, Sam. No. Jack's gonna be okay." Daniel's voice was gentle and encouraging. "It could have been bad, but we got to him in time. He'll be okay." Daniel helped her to her feet. "Come on, let's go see him."

.

Daniel showed Sam to a private room where Jack lay under a cooling blanket pulled up to his chest with fans blowing air across his body. There were packs of ice tucked around him; under his armpits, at either side of his neck, and she guessed beneath the blanket around his groin. His skin was red and flushed, but Daniel had tried to assure her that it had been worse, and Jack was doing quite well now. Knowing that he'd been worse did nothing to ease her concerns, despite the relief she'd originally felt when learning that he hadn't suffered the type of stroke she'd been imagining.

Sam stared blankly at the IV giving her husband fluids, and the other wires and tubes snaking out from beneath the blanket. Seeing Jack like this still wasn't very comforting, and she tentatively stepped up to the bed and picked up his hand. His skin felt hot and dry. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Daniel… Could you—?"

His hand came down gently on her shoulder. "Sure, I'll give you some privacy."

"Thanks," Sam told him softly without taking her eyes off of Jack. She heard Daniel leave the room and sat down on the edge of Jack's bed, still holding his hand.

After a few minutes, Jack's eyes dragged open sluggishly.

"Hey, babe," she said softly, raking a hand through his hair.

He blinked up at her with confusion. _"Sam?" _he rasped, his dark eyes questioning.

"Yes, I'm really here," she assured him with a warm, loving smile.

Jack's brows furrowed slightly. _"Shouldn't you…be…in space?"_

Sam snorted softly and nodded, squeezing his hand. "Yes, Jack. But I heard you got into a bit of trouble and I beamed down here to take care of you, you big goof."

He quirked a weak smile at her gentle teasing, then suddenly frowned. _"Landry?"_

Sam grimaced, knowing what he was asking. "I haven't talked to Landry yet, but I suppose he'll want to know what the hell I'm doing here."

Jack's face quickly grew worried, and Sam knew that he was concerned she'd be in trouble because of him.

"It's okay," she insisted with a reassuring smile. "I need to go see the General, but I'll be right back, okay?" Sam reluctantly slid off the bed and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

He nodded slowly, and his eyes drifted shut as she turned away. Sam only hoped Landry wouldn't reprimand her too badly; after all, family was more important to her now than her career. If something terrible had happened to Jack and she wasn't there for him, Sam would never have been able to forgive herself.

.

"What's going on?" Sam asked apprehensively as she returned to Jack's room where Dr. Carolyn Lam and a nurse were sitting him up, removing the ice packs, tubes are wires, and other monitoring equipment.

"Colonel Carter," Lam looked at her with surprise for a moment, then said, "Everything's fine, I just want to get him in another bath to cool him down."

"_Ice bath?" _Jack grumbled with obvious distaste. He was so weak, Lam and the nurse had to hold onto him to keep him sitting up.

"No sir, no ice this time. The water just needs to be a bit cool so we can get your temperature down a little more," Dr. Lam explained.

"Can I help?" Sam asked as Lam and the male nurse got Jack into a wheelchair. He was half naked, having only been wearing his boxer briefs beneath the cooling blanket.

Lam paused momentarily, giving Sam an appraising look. The other woman must have seen Sam's need to be useful, her urge to do something to help her husband. She smiled understandingly. "Sure, ma'am, if you'd like to."

Sam nodded and followed them into the adjoining private bathroom. The oversized tub was already filled, and as she stuck her hand in, found the water just a little cooler than lukewarm.

As Dr. Lam applied another piece of tape to the detached IV port still in Jack's left hand, Sam took a moment to consider her husband. He'd gained weight while in Washington, spending so much time behind a desk with little spare time for exercising or much else, but since retiring, Jack had been more active, swiftly returning to the shape he'd been in when he was promoted to Brigadier General. Retirement suited him, Sam thought, despite his frequent complaints of being bored. He found ways to remain involved with the SGC, joining in training sessions when he could, and offering his knowledge of tactics to new and old team leaders alike. He found other ways to keep himself busy while she was off commanding her ship, too. He was an assistant couch to one of the local youth ice hockey teams, and often went walking or hiking, even jogging when his knees were up to it.

Sam was jarred from her thoughts by Doctor Lam's exasperated tone as she and the nurse tried to convince her husband to allow them to finish undressing him and get him in the bath.

"General, please. Let us do our jobs."

"_Go…away. Don't need…y'r help," _ Jack protested weakly. "Where's…Sam?"

Oh boy, Sam thought, he was already in full defiance mode. "Carolyn," she stepped in. "Maybe it would be easier if I helped him; alone. I mean, if that's alright." She knew her husband, and she knew that if he didn't want the doctor to do something, he could be as obstinate as possible. Dr. Fraiser was the only medical professional she'd known that would never let him get away anything. Granted, Dr. Lam could be quite feisty in her own right, but she'd never had to deal with Jack O'Neill for an extended period that lasted longer than a simple check up.

Lam studied her for a moment, glanced back at Jack, and heaved a resigned sigh. "Alright. But if you need any help, don't hesitate to hit the button," she gestured toward the 'help' button on the wall near the bathtub. "Just make sure he doesn't get cold, and if he starts to sweat afterward, that's good. It means his body is working to cool itself down."

"Okay." Sam nodded, and put her hand on Jack's hot shoulder as Dr. Lam left with the nurse.

"_I had a catheter," _Jack murmured suddenly. He was still pretty out of it.

Suppressing a smile, Sam nodded. "Yes, you did."

"_Dr. Lam…took it out."_

"Mm-hm," Sam hummed, not really paying attention. She positioned his wheelchair a little closer to the tub.

"_She touched my penis," _Jack blurted out.

Sam burst out laughing at his pronouncement. She knew he was a little loopy from the heat stroke, but she couldn't help herself. "Jack," she said, covering her mouth to try and stop her hysterics.

"_Are you mad?" _

Bending over to kiss his cheek and brush a hand through his hair, Sam smiled lovingly. She looked into his slightly-hazy eyes. "No, Jack. I'm not mad. It's okay, she's a doctor. They're allowed to do that you know." Sam winked at him.

"_Okay." _Jack looked away, then back at her with a tilt of his head. _"What…did Landry…say?" _ he asked feebly as Sam went to lock the door behind the doctor.

Unfazed by her befuddled husband's pinpoint topic switch, she replied, "He gave my crew permission to beam Colonel Reynolds aboard to take over while I'm gone. General Landry wasn't happy with the way I handled things," Sam shrugged with a small grimace, "but he did give me my upcoming two weeks leave a little early."

Jack nodded and watched her begin to strip off her clothes with a mixture of delight and confusion. _"What'cha…doin'?"_

Sam sent him a sly little wink and teased, "Don't get excited, I'm just doing this to help you. You can barely sit up on your own, and it'll be easier for me to help you in and out of the tub if I'm in there with you."

Jack quirked a faint grin of amusement as she finished stripping completely and started to help him out of his boxer briefs. Despite his evident discomfort due to the heat stroke, her husband was clearly getting aroused by her lack of clothing, and probably because she was undressing him, too.

"I said not to get excited," she chided gently in his ear when she helped him stand, completely naked now.

"_See what happens…when you take…advantage…of me?" _he quipped, fighting to control his shaky legs.

Sam laughed softly, moving behind Jack, her arms wrapping tightly around him. His skin was still flushed and hot to the touch. She put one foot into the bath as he did the same while she supported his weight. They moved together, getting the next foot in, then Sam slowly sunk down with him into the large tub, the cool water settling around their bodies. Sam bent her knees so Jack could sit between her legs and recline against her, sinking down until the water covered his shoulders. The water was cold to her, but Sam didn't care, as long as it was going to help Jack. "How's that?"

"_Better…than an…ice bath," _he murmured, his head resting back between her breasts.

Sam had a feeling he was even enjoying this a little. She craned her neck to kiss the top of his head, her right hand stroking up and down his arm. She might have enjoyed it herself if the water wasn't cold and Jack wasn't suffering from heat stroke.

After spending about ten minutes in the bath, Sam decided that it was time to get out of the water. Jack's skin didn't feel as hot or look as red, and she was starting to prune! Rubbing his shoulders, Sam crooned in Jack's ear, "C'mon babe, time to get out."

"_Do we have to?" _he murmured drowsily.

"Yes," Sam answered, slowly starting to get up and position herself to help him. "Dr. Lam doesn't want you to get cold."

"_Hrmph." _Jack grumbled something inarticulately as he tried to get his feet under him to help her get him standing.

.

Sam dried off and put her uniform back on, then helped Jack dress in a fresh pair of shorts and pushed him back into the infirmary room in the wheelchair. When she got him back in bed, it was apparent he was still at least semi-aroused despite the fact they'd both been sitting in cold water for close to ten minutes. She felt her cheeks flush, wondering what the doctor would think if she came back and found him in this state. "Jack, you better calm down before Lam comes back to put your IV in again."

He shrugged helplessly with a lopsided smirk. "It's not…my fault. Usually when we're…both naked…something happens."

"Jack!" Sam exclaimed, laughing.

"What? It's…true."

Shaking her head with a sigh, Sam picked up one of the discarded ice packs on the bed and put it on her husband's groin.

"Hey!" Jack yelped, a testament that he was feeling a bit better. He sounded much more lucid as well.

Sam was laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Shush." She pulled the cooling blanket up over his waist and then pressed her hand to his forehead. "You don't feel too bad to me now. Are you still hot?"

"_Not anymore…with my…nuts on ice,"_ Jack grumbled.

"Jack." He must have been so out of it earlier, he hadn't even realized that there had been two icepacks on his groin before, Sam thought, shaking her head. "Are you still hot?" she asked again.

"A little," he finally admitted, leaning back against his pillows and pulling a hand across his face.

Sam hit the call button on the bed to get Dr. Lam to come back. She was hoping that if his temperature had gone down considerably, she could just take him home. The longer he stayed in the infirmary, the crankier he would get. Especially since he knew Sam was home now.

When they could hear the doctor coming down the hall, Jack reached beneath the cooling blanket and took the icepack off his groin, setting it down on the mattress beside him.

"Better?" Sam mouthed to him as the door opened, her eyes flicking south of his waist.

Jack nodded briefly and grunted in assent.

"Feeling a little cooler now, General?" Lam asked with a smile as she strode into the private room, no nurse along with her this time.

"Oh yeah," Jack groused. His dark eyes flashed to Sam and she had to turn away for a moment as she felt her cheeks burn red.

"I'm just going to check your temperature, sir," Dr. Lam said as she took out her oral thermometer and put a disposable cap on it before sticking it in Jack's right ear. "101.6; a mild fever, but still going down, and that's good."

"Does that mean I can take him home?" Sam asked hopefully before Jack got the chance to.

Carolyn smiled warmly. "I don't see why not." She moved around the bed and carefully peeled back the tape over Jack's IV port before gently removing the needle and applying gauze. "Just continue to monitor his temperature and make sure he keeps relatively cool and drinks plenty of fluids."

Sam nodded. "I can do that."

Lam checked Jack's pulse. "I just need to run a few more blood tests, I'll check his temperature one more time, and then you can take him home."

"Good." Sam smiled and sat on the edge of Jack's bed, taking his hand. She was glad to be able to bring him home with her.

.

As much as Sam wanted to cuddle up next to her husband in bed, she knew that it wasn't going to happen. She needed to keep Jack's temperature _down _not up, and lying pressed up against him wasn't going to help with that. Lam had instructed her to check his temperature often, and Sam promised that she would take him back to the infirmary if it started to go up again. She would do everything within her power to keep Jack home, even if that meant he got cranky with her for the constant fussing.

"_Sam?"_

Responding to his voice, she set down the bowl of cool water she'd brought in and crawled onto the bed. Lying on her stomach, Sam propped her head up on her hand and faced Jack with an affectionate smile. "Hey."

"_Hi." _ His head tilted in her direction. Jack's deep brown eyes were still a little hazy. He'd been resting for the past couple of hours, ever since she'd taken him home.

"Feeling any better?" she asked softly, reaching out a hand to play with his hair.

"Yeah." Jack rolled on his side, facing her. His dark eyes were soft, serious. "I'm glad you're home."

"Me, too." Sam briefly closed her eyes, remembering the panic she'd felt when she thought Daniel had told her that Jack had suffered a stroke. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and she stopped playing with his hair. "I was so scared, Jack."

He frowned a little. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Sam bit her lower lip. "When I spoke to Daniel while I was on _The Hammond_, the radio transmission was bad. I thought…" she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I thought you'd had a stroke. A _stroke, _stroke. And I panicked. I had one of my officers beam me home right away. I went against protocol."

Jack quirked a small smile and reached for her hand. "I woulda done the same," he said softly.

"I know." Sam smiled back at him and scooted close enough to give him a lingering kiss, her palm cupped against his warm cheek. "I'm just happy you're okay."

Turning his head to kiss her palm, Jack smirked. "You better quit it or you're gonna make my temperature go up again," he teased.

Sam gave him a mock warning look. "Don't make me put you in the bath again."

Jack chuckled, a faint sparkle in his dark eyes. "Somehow I don't think that'll help."

.End.


End file.
